Material-handling apparatus



Nav. 12,1929.

H. B` WALKER MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 2o, 1927 2sheets-sneer l /i @www we., 1., n. f C NN wm mm .um N.

ll llll Nov. 12, 1929.

H. B. WALKER 1,735,365' MATERIAL HANDLING AISPARATUS Filed Jan. 2o. 19272 sheets-sheer 2 Patented Nov. 12, 1929 UNITED ,STATES PAT-ENT oFFlcEHENRY B. WALKER, OF lMARION, OHIO, ASBIGNOB T THE FAIRFIELD ENGINmGCOMPANY, 0F MARION, OHIO, ,A'COBPOBATIONMOI O'HIO HATEBIAL-RANDLIN Gn.AIPll-ABA'JSITB appnmm mea January so, 19a?. semi-1ro. resaca.

My invention relates to material-handling apparatus and particularly tothat class of mechanism which is especially adapted for handling coal,earth, land the like.

In`removing coal from storage piles, ex-

cavating earth, etc., by means of conveyers or elevators, apparatus, in'addition to a conveycr, is frequently required in order to lace A thematerial upon the conveyer, particularly if the pile of material issomewhat hardened or closely compacted. w

One object of my invention isfto provide a' material loosening andtransferring mechanism arranged in cooperative relation to a conveyer.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of plowmechanism' for loosening and directing a flow of loosened material in apredetermined path.

lAnother ob]ect of my invention is to simplify and improve generally thestructure 'and operation of material-handling systems.

. One form which my invention may take is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein Figure 1 is aside elevational view of apparatusembodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view oftheapparatus 0f Fig. 1. The ap aratus is shorgnV as mounted upon a caterpllar structure of somewhat the usual type. he tractor comprises the usualframework 3 in which are journaled rollers 4`that serve as anti-frictionthrust bearings for tread links 5-when the are in the lower flights of.ythe chains whichI contain4 such links. The chain links are driven by theusual sprocket* wheels 6 aid 6; The sprocket wheels 6 and 6 are securedto shafts 7 that are journaled in the ends of the framework 3. Thesprocketf wheel 6a is driven by a pinion 8 that is mounted upon ashaft'9, to which is secured a sprocket wheel 10. A claim indicateddiagrammaticall by the itch line 11, transmits power to t e s roc etwheel 10, from a sprocket wheel 12 t at has driving connection through aclutch y13 of any usual form' with a sprocket-wheel 14. The sprocket 14is connected to a shaft 15 that has connection through a clutch 16 witha sprocket wheel 17, which, through a chain indicated diagrammaticallyby the line 18, drives the tread links 5 at the opposite side of thetractor, through connections similar to the driving "connections to thetread links 5. The sprocket wheel 14 is .driven'from a motor 20, througha pinf- 55 ion 21, a drive chain 22, sprocket wheel 23, a shaft 24 apinion 25 and a chain 26, the pinion 25 having clutch connection withthe shaft 24. f.

The parts above s ecically described arey e0 of a somewhat stan ardformof apparatus, and therefore need not be further explained in detail.l

Referring now more particularly to that portion of the ap aratus towhich my'invena5 tion especially re ates, I rovide a conveyer frame 28that is pivotalll) mounted at its lower en d upon the sha 7 and its)upper end is supported bi1-a pair of adjusting screws 29 (only one of w'ch is visible on the draw- 70 ing) with which worm gears 30, that aresuitab y journaled in the upper framework, haye screw-threaded.engagement. The worm gears 30 mesh with a worm shaft 31 to which a handwheel 32 is connected. Rotative move- 75 ment of the handwheel 32 willtherefore cause the upper end of the conveyer to be iaised or lowered asdesired, to vary the inclination of such conveyer as well as thevinclination ofthe plows to be hereinafter described.

At the upper and lower ends of the frame 28, I mount conveyer chainsprockets 33 and 34. The sprockets 34 are secured to a shaft 35 that isjournaled in the framework 28 and the sprockets 33 are secured to ashaft e5 36 that is mounted' in the frame 28. The shaft 36 is ,driven bymeans of a sprocket wheel 37, from the motorv20 and the sprocket wheel23, through a sprocket wheel 38 that has clutch connection' with theshaft 24, ee

through a driving chain indicated by the dot dash line 39' a sprocketwheel 40; a shaft 40; a sprocket 40",,and a drive chain 41. Thesprocket. chain39 passes aroundidler sprockets 43 and 44 that aremounted upon e5 a pivoted bracket 45 which is adjustable by means of aturn buckle 46 that has screwthreaded engagement withrods 47 and 48which vhave ivotal connection with 'the bracket 45 ami) the frame 28,respectively, so 100 that the tension of the chain 39 can be adjusted,as when theupper end of the conveyer frame 28 is shiftedverticallythrough operation of the handwheel 32.

` A.' pair of scoops or plows 50 are supported at the lower end of theconveyor frame 28, by means of pivot memoers 51 that are rigidly secured-tothe plows and are rotatably mounted in the conveyor frame. Each ofthe plows 50 has a substantially dat portion A and a dished portion B.The portions A and B together have a form similar to the mold board of aland plow, so that material which accumulates upon the iiat surface Awill be guidedtoward the vlongitudinal center'- line of the conveyer,bythe dished portions B. The forward edges of the portions A aretoothed, so as to more electively loosen ma- Jterial when the plows areoscillated in the manner hereinafter described; while the dishedportions aresurmounted by verticallyextending portions C for confiningand guid- A ing the iiow of material.

The shaft '40 is provided with an. eccentric 53 that has drivingconnection with :in eccen- 1 tric rod 54. The forward end of the rod 54ments of the disc 57 will be transmitted to the levers 60 and the plows50 thereby oscillated about their pivots.

The method of operation may be stated as Upon energization of the motor2O with the various clutches in operative positionythe tractor will beadvanced toward a body of material which is to be removed.` Therear endof the conveyer frame 29 is at such elevation that the forward portionof the'plows 50 will have the desired inclination with respect tothepile of material (not shown). Simultaneously with the advancing movementof the tractor,"the plows 50 will be oscillated about their axes 51,Athrough reciprocation of'the eccentric rod 54 that is -operated as aboveindicated. As the material is loosened and gathered upon the plows 50,it is guided toward the mid' portion of the conveyer and caught by thescrapers or 'buckets 62 of the conveyor chains 63 and carried upwardlyon the apron 62". At the upper end of the conveyer, the material maydischarge directly into a truck body or into a distributory conveyer 64which has its receiving end pivotally mounted upon the framework 3, sothat the material may be discharged from the outer end (not shown) ofthe conveyer 64.130 a plurality of points.`

It will be seen that the tractor can be turned to move the forwardorlower end of the conveyer 29 through an arc, by selective manipulationAof the c move the plows 50 across the face of a pile of material. Thusthe plows can be advanced into the body of material and simultaneouslyoscillated through the tog le connections 59 and 60, or may be oscillateindependently of the movement of the tractor.-

Where I herein refer to the members 50 as plows -or Scrapers, it will beunderstood that they may be of various other-forms, such as y scraper'members which'may be oscillated to not only loosen the material but todraw it toward the center line of the conve er. It will be seen that thevertically-extending porutches 13 and 16 in aymanner common in thetractor art, to thus tions B and C of the scoops will exercisev thisAdrawing or scraping effect independently of.

the liattenedportions A of the scoops.

Some of the many uses to which my invention may be put are in connectionwith reage piles, road-grading, etc. In such cases, the tractor and theplows will be advanced and the distributor conveyer 64 drawn along, withits discharge end extending transversely to the path of movement of thetractor, so as to discharge into vehicles that may be move in the samedirection as the tractor', thus avoiding backing or turning of thevehicles in order to place them in load-receiving position.

I claim as m invention:

1. Material andling apparatus comprisv moval of coal, cinders or thelike, from storl v ing a conveyer, a scoop mounted at one end of theconveyer and having a vertically-projecting portion extending obliquelyrearward to direct material deposited thereon to the conveyer, means foradvancing the scoop against a body of material, and means foroscillating said scoop to loosen the material to be handled.

2. Material handling apparatus comprising a conveyer, a scoop mounted atone end of the conveyer and formed to direct material deposited thereonto the conveyer, when the scoop is advanced against a body of thematerial, and means for simultaneously oscillating said scoop in ahorizontally-extended plane and advancing the vsame into a mass ofmaterial which is to be moved.

3. Material handling apparatus comprising a scoop of plow-like form andhaving an upwardly. disposed material-receiving surface, and means foroscillating said scoo about a rearwardly-located vertically-exten inaxis and for advancing the same against a ody of the material Ato shiftthe material? rearwardly and transversely.

4. Material handling apparatus comprising a scoop of plow-like form andhaving an upwardly disposed material-receiving surface and havingprojections at its forward edge for breakingup friable material, andmeans for oscillating and advancing said scoop to shift the material soloosened in a direction rearwardly and transversely of the line ofadvancing movement.

5. Material handling apparatus comprising a conveyor, a scoop adjacentthe conveyer, and means for oscillating the scoop, the scoop presentinga relatively wide digging edge an aving it face turned upwardly to gui ematerial across an upper surface of the scoo towards the conveyer whenthe scoop is a vanced against a body of the material.

6. Material handling apparatus comprising a conveyer, means foradvancing the conveyer toward a body of material, a scoop adjacenttheconveyer, and means for osclllating the scoop, the scoop presenting arelatively wide toothed digging edge and having its face turned upwardlyto guide material across an upper surface of the scoop t0- ward theconveyer.

7. Material handling apparatus comprising a conveyer, a scoop adjacentthe conveyer,

the scoop being pivotally mounted on a vertically-extendin axis, thescoop presenting a relatively -wi e digging edge and havin its face`turned upwardly toV guide materia across an upper surface of the scooptowards l the conveyer, and means for oscillating the scoop. r f

8. Material handling apparatus comprising a conveyer, a air of scoopswhose combined width is at east as great as the width of the conveyer,each scoop having its face presented towards the conveyer and so shapedas to guide material across an upper sur ace of the scoop towards theconveyor, and means for substantially simultaneously moving the scoopstoward or away from one another and against a body of the material.

9. Material handling apparatus comprising av movable carriage having aconveyer mounted thereon, andv oscillating scoop means adapted to feedmaterial to the conveyer, the scoop means presenting a digging edge atleast as wide as the movable carriage and having an upwardly turned faceso shaped as to guide material on top of the scoop means towards theconveyer when the carria e is advanced toward a body of the materia 10.Material handling apparatus comprising a movable carriage, a conveyermounted thereon, a pair of'opposed scoops adjacent the conigeyer, thescoops having digging edges whose combined width is at least as great asthe width of the carria e, and means for oscillating the scoops andavancin them, the scoops having upwardly turn faces so formed as to guidematerial thereon towards the conveyor.

11'. The method of handling mieter-i111 which comprises forcing a scoophaving an

